Goldenheart Part One
by Kaorie Raven
Summary: Yugi and his friends suddenly find themselves in the middle of a war, a romance, and an ancient prophecy. Things get so terrifying and action-packed that someone's sure to get killed...
1. New Arrivals Revealed

Yu-Gi-Oh!: Forgotten Memories

Bakura looked down the empty hallways.  "That's odd," he said.  "It's already eight thirty and no one's here yet."  He looked into one of the empty classrooms of Domino High School.  No teachers.  No students.  Why, even the custodians had taken a day off.  _It just doesn't make sense, he thought, pacing up and down the halls, trying to recall if there had been a notice about school being cancelled, but the day before was just a big blur that involved a duel between him and another student when the teacher had left the room and then a long detention when the instructor had come back with Mrs. Brannigan, the principal.  There had been no mention, as far as he knew, of the cancelled school day._

            "Ahhh, lay off, Bakura," his shadow said.  "You probably just missed daylight savings time or something stupid like that.  Maybe it's really eight o'clock and you just missed it.  Or maybe someone dropped a biological bomb on the place and killed all the teachers—hehe...I wish...  Or maybe Mrs. Brannigan called it off and you were just off in your little world and didn't listen.  Or maybe—"

            "—Or _maybe," Bakura said, cutting him off, "My Yami had better shut up or he's going to loose some teeth!"_

            "Yeah, I'd like to see you try to pull _that_ one off!!!"

            Bakura stepped on his shadow's face.  There was a muffled cry, and then it threw his foot off and piped—"DON'T DO THAT!!!"

            "Well, I warned you.  You shouldn't talk about the teachers at this school like that!  They don't get paid very much, you know, and they work very hard!"

            "AND SINCE WHEN DID _YOU BECOME A TEACHER'S PET, B'KURA?" the figure underneath him said irritably.  "You're just like that little Yugi brat—you just gotta be a __goody-good all the time!  Next thing you know, you'll be helping little old hooters across the street!"  He said in a high, screechy, impersonating voice, "_Oh, thank you, young man!  Such a kind boy!_  C'mon, buddy!  Don't turn boy scout on me!"_

            Bakura tried to imagine himself in a Boy Scout uniform and a disgusted look crossed his face.  "_I think NOT!_" he said, louder than he meant to say it, trying to keep a little dignity.

            All of a sudden, a small, lightning-haired boy ran down the hall, muttering to himself between gasps, "Oh...great...I'm late _again_...Mr. Tylers is gonna be..._really_ mad if I'm...if I'm late again..."

            "Mr. Tylers isn't here, Yugi," Bakura pointed out.

            Yugi turned around to face Bakura.  "What?  You mean we have a substitute?"

            Bakura gazed around the halls.  "Well, look around.  _No one_ really seems to be here, do they?"

            The boy in front of him looked down each hall.  He didn't see a single person.  No one was out of class going to the bathroom.  No teachers were walking down to another's classroom.  The janitors had taken a holiday.  Noise wasn't blasting from the band and orchestra rooms.  The gym was empty.  No one seemed to be there but the two of them.

            "See?" Bakura said at last.  "I just don't understand it.  I didn't hear anyone say school was cancelled..."

            "Neither did I..."

            "Well, since no one's here and the door's unlocked, this could be a perfect time to wreak some havoc!" Bakura's shadow said loudly.

            "_Yaku__!" Bakura hissed, stepping on its face again so it wouldn't attract Yugi's attention._

            Yugi looked up.  "Did you hear that?"

            "Err...hear what?" Bakura said nervously.

            "Uh...never mind," Yugi said.  _It must have been the spirit of my Millennium Puzzle_, he thought.  _Who else I know would want to wreak havoc on a school?_

            So, Bakura and Yugi walked on for some time, however, Yaku, also known as the tomb robber Yami Bakura, was getting tired of Bakura stepping on his face every time he opened his mouth to say something, and had noticed something else.

            That kid's got a Millennium Item! he said in Bakura's head.

            You _just now noticed that, Yaku? Bakura said._

            Well, I didn't see it!  I wanna take a look at it!  Move over!

            No way!  For all _I_ know, you could be trying to steal it!  Or even worse, you could hurt him once you've got me out of the way!

            OH, I WON'T DO _THAT!!! Yaku showed a fake smile._

            Yaku, I'm not going to let you—!

            Bakura suddenly stumbled.  "Bakura!" Yugi said with deep concern, stopping immediately.  "Are you alright?"

            He straightened up, but in a very un-Bakura-like fashion.  "Yeah, I'm fine," he said sharply in a lower, raspier voice.  And, unless Yugi was seeing things, his eyes had become much darker and narrower.

            "Are you sure you're all right?  You sound like you've got a cold!"

            And, as Yaku knew how perilous it was to tell little Yugi you had an ailment of any sort, as he would chain you to a bed and wouldn't let you up until he was satisfied you were better, he stepped back and cautiously said, "No, I'm not sick, alright? It's just..."  He tried to think up an excuse for the sudden change.  "...It's just part of becoming a man, Yugi!" he said at last.  "Sometimes your voice is high, other times it gets low!  It's all part of human growth and development!"

            "Err...right..." Yugi said, who understood nothing about that particular subject.

            "So..." Yaku said, glancing at his Millennium Puzzle.  "You...have a Millennium Item."

            "Uh...yeah.  The Millennium Puzzle.  I don't know much about it yet," he added.  "But it's kinda weird."

            "May I take a look at it?"

            "Sure!" Yugi said right after his mental danger alarm went off.  Yugi ignored it, but the Millennium Puzzle didn't like it at all.  Who he thought was Bakura picked up the Puzzle and examined it carefully and thoroughly, and for a while he was silent.

            Finally, he said softly, "It _is a very odd sort of amulet, isn't it?"  He didn't look at Yugi.  Instead, his eyes were fixed on the Puzzle.  "With a golden eye.  Do you know what it is, Yugi?  The eye, I mean?"_

            "The Millennium Eye, of course," Yugi said.  "My grandpa told me it was on almost every Millennium Item."

            "So, you know more about them than I thought..."

            Yaku was jerked back into reality with a thump as a girl cried out just outside the school.  "HEY!  WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!?"

            "Err...I don't think she's talking to us...but c'mon...let's not doubt—we ought to get out of here!"  Yugi turned and ran toward the exit.

            _Someday, Yugi..._ Yaku thought, dropping the Puzzle and staring at the boy running toward the nearest exit, gritting his teeth in frustration.  _Someday...that puzzle will be MINE!!!_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

Yugi tried one door.  Then he tried another.  And then another.  Each one was locked.  They were both trapped inside the school.  The only way out was the way they came in—and that would lead them past the girl.

            "Don't worry, kid..." his companion said.  "I've been in lots of situations like this before, and I've turned into quite the escape master.  C'mon...let's go into the cafeteria.  If she really wants to catch us, she'll have to come into the school, leaving the exit open to us.  What d' ya say, buddy?"

            Just then, someone who didn't really sound like the girl they heard earlier said loudly, "But, Say!  We're NOT going to get in trouble!  I'm not going to sign my name on the wall or anything!  I'm just going to put someone ELSE'S name down to get THEM in trouble!!!"

            "Shadow!  THAT'S MEAN!" the girl from earlier cried.

            "I KNOW!!!  ISN'T IT WONDERFUL?"  The other girl didn't really seem to care.

            "Or...maybe not...it's just another goody-good trying to convince someone what they're doing is wrong when they don't actually care," Yaku said.

            "Hey, Bakura," Yugi said, "are you _sure you're okay?  I've never heard you use the term 'goody-good' before."_

            "Err...then you haven't been listening!" Yaku snapped.  "I've been saying it A LOT!!!  YOU just haven't noticed yet."

            "Alright!  Alright!  No need to yell!"  Yugi headed off to the door where he'd come in.  Yaku followed close behind, making sure the poor, unsuspecting boy didn't leave his range of sight.

            Yugi opened the door and peeked cautiously through it, when all of a sudden, he was jerked through it and taken hostage by the troublemaker girl (he knew who she was because she had a bottle of graffiti in one hand and a pocket knife in the other and was halfway done writing "DEMONS RULE" on the wall of the school).  She had black hair just like the other one, but she had crimson bangs instead of blue, like the one trying to get her to stop.

            "Okay, Sara.  I will say it one more time.  _Back off_ and _no one gets hurt_."  She held the little knife up to Yugi's neck.  This was going way too far.

            Fortunately, Yaku realized what was happening and strode over to them both, pulling the knife out of her hands in one swift stroke.  "Someone your age shouldn't be messing with such things, Shadow!" he said scathingly.  "You could poke someone's eye out with this thing.  Oh, yeah...since when are _you_ still alive?  Didn't you throw yourself off a cliff, or something?"

            "I DID N—well, I _did, but—STILL!  DON'T YOU REALIZE THAT THERE IS A MORTAL PRESENT HERE AND YOU COULD BE BLABBING ALL OUR SECRETS TO THE PUBLIC?!?"_

            "No..._my abiou is here.  Why can't..."  He hesitated, smirking.  "...Why can't __Pharaoh's be here?"_

            "Ph-ph-pharaoh?" she stammered.  She looked down at Yugi, noticed the Millennium Puzzle, cussed, and dropped him (his feet had been dangling while the girl had him in a headlock).

            Yugi got up and brushed himself off.  "Err...thanks for putting me down...but...what was that all about?"

            "Err...NOTHING!!!" the troublemaker said, looking at Yugi as if he were a bomb about to explode at any second.

            "Sorry about that," the other girl said.  "Shadow gets violent sometimes when she's trying to get her way."

            "I wasn't trying to get my way!" she said, sticking her nose into the air.  "I was just trying to convince you my way was better!"

            "Oui ve.  Listen.  The point is, Shadow, _you owe him an apology!!!"_

            "Aw, do I gotta?"

            "YES!!!"

            "Fine."  Shadow turned to little Yugi.  "Sorry, kid."  Sara cleared her throat.  "I'm very sorry about what I did," Shadow corrected herself.

            "That's better."  The well-behaved one turned to Yugi.  "Um...by the way, I dun think either of us has introduced ourselves, right, Shadow?"

            "Err...right," she said.

            "I'm Sara Kennitharian," she said, not putting her hand out, but instead bowing low.  "Everyone calls me Say, though."

            "I'm Shadow Hirakon," the other girl said quickly and shortly.

            "I'm Yugi," he said.  "Yugi Motou.  Pleased to meet you."

            "Yugi Motou?  So you're that kid who kicked Seto Kaiba's ass?" Shadow blurted out rudely.

            "Shadow!  Be polite!" Sara snapped.

            "No, that's alright," Yugi said.  "So...I guess you've already met Bakura?"

            "Who's Bakura?" Sara asked.

            "Um...or maybe not," Yugi said.  "Hey—wait a minute!  You were just talking to him like you knew him, weren't you?"

            "_I_ wasn't talking to _anyone_," Sara said, pointing to Shadow.  "_She was doing all the talking!"_

            "I dun know nobody named Bakura," Shadow said.

            "_That's_ Bakura!!!"  Yugi pointed over to him.

            "Oh, him?" Shadow asked.  "No, no, no, kid.  You've got it all wrong.  Either that, or you rrrrrreeeeeeaalllyyy shortened his name.  So anyone who _is called Bakura could get mixed up with him pretty easily.  Wait—is dat a bad thing?"_

            "I dunno.  It depends whose side you're on, I guess..."  Sara looked from little Yugi to the guy behind him.  "I suppose it's bad, but I'm with the kid.  It's probably good for the other guy, though, if he wants to gain his trust or something...but who would want to make fun of a cute little ten-year-old boy?"

            "He's _four," Shadow said._

            "Make that _fourteen!" Yugi snapped._

            "_FOURTEEN?!?_"

            "_Here!_"  Yugi pulled out his student ID.  "See?  It says _fourteen_!!!"

            "Oh, FINE.  Fourteen," Shadow admitted.  "Oh yeah...and just so you know!  I'm STILL about FIVE THOUSAND YEARS older than you, so dun get any idea dat we're equal."

            "You _are five thousand years older than me, Shadow," Sara said.  "But you're five thousand one years older than him.  He's fourteen.  Not fifteen."_

            "Fourteen, fifteen, fifty.  Just so you know—_I DON'T CARE!!!"_

            "Geez!  You dun gotta yell, Sha—hey!  Where'd lil' Yugi and Yaku go?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yaku threw Yugi up against the wall on the other side of the school.  "B-bakura......what are you..._doing_...?!?" Yugi stammered.

            The white-haired boy pulled him up by his front collar and pinned him to the brick barrier.  "I'm doing what I've been waiting to do for a long..._long_...time, kid!"  He smirked and pulled Yugi up higher on the wall.  His eyes took on a look that made them seem hungry for power...thirsty for blood.  "I intend to _take your Millennium Puzzle!_"

            "The Puzzle?!?" Yugi repeated nervously. "Nooo!  _Let me go!!!_"

            "Ohhh, I'll let you go," He said, his eyes looking hungrier than ever.  "...as soon as I take it!"

            "N-noo!"  Yugi grabbed the chain to protect it and tried to kick him, but his little legs were too short.  "I...I won't let you!"

            "Yesss!" Yaku said, and reached for the little amulet...

            _WHAM!_

            Yugi's feet hit the pavement right after Sara came down from the roof—right on Yaku's shoulder!  "Yugi, run!" she said.  "We'll deal with him!"

            Yugi nodded and started sprinting off in the other direction.  Or, he would have if Yaku hadn't grabbed his ankle.

            Sara tried to stomp on his wrist, but Yaku grabbed her foot and flipped her over (This obviously didn't fit his definition of "hitting" a lady).  Then he seized Yugi and turned to make a run for it, but Shadow was standing in his way.

            "_Let_..._him...__go..." she said slowly and forcefully._

            "Oh, yes...that...ahh..."  He pulled out the pocket knife he'd taken from Shadow and looked it over.  It seemed sharp enough.  "Um...NO! I don't feel like it!"  He held the knife frighteningly close to Yugi's neck.  Yugi felt his skin go pale.

            "**_Let_...****_him_...****_go_..." she repeated.**

            Yaku kept the knife moving in a threatening way, up and down, up and down...Yugi tried to watch it, but it made him dizzy, so he closed his eyes, trying to think of a way out, Yaku rambling on scathingly to Shadow about the past ("_I_ remember when you were this protective of _Pharaoh_, Shadow...made me sick!).  And then, a voice, a voice lower and clearer than his own said in his head—

            Yu-Gi-Oh!

            Yugi opened his eyes.  Yes, of course!  In order to escape, he'd need to do something on his own.  But, he couldn't do that...although, he could...only if he could summon—

            "I'll say it _one more time..." Shadow said, obviously loosing her patience.  "****__Let...him...go!!!"  Yaku didn't move.  Shadow opened her mouth, but Yugi—or who _had been_ Yugi—said it first._

            "Time's up, tomb robber!"

            He somehow found a way to make his feet touch the ground and flipped Yaku over.  The tall boy went headfirst into the pavement.

            "Ooo!" Sara said, getting up and cringing.  "That's _gotta_ hurt!"

            "There's no _way he's still conscious after _that _one!"  Shadow walked closer while Yugi had his back turned.  "Nope!  Hey, that was a good one, kid! I never knew you knew Tai kwon d—uh...oh..."  Shadow went pale as Yugi turned around to face her.  She squealed, "__Pharaoh!" and ducked behind Sara._

            "Shadow!  Whassamotta you?  You look like you've seen a ghost!"

            "Well...technically...yes...she has."

            Yami Yugi walked up.  Sara examined him carefully.  Shadow shrank smaller, cowering before him.  Finally, Sara said, "Ohhhhh! So _this_ is Pharaoh!  I _thought he looked familiar.  You showed me that photograph a—"_

            Shadow covered her mouth quickly and glanced nervously at Yami.  His face looked like a mixture of surprise, amusement, sadness, and anger.  Mostly surprise, although who knew what someone like that was thinking all the time?  Shadow, for one, did _not _want to take the chance of catching him in a _bad_ mood.

            Which, thankfully, he wasn't.

            "I...thought you..."

            "Well...I...uh...decided to keep it...I mean...err...well...you see...it was...like...the only thing I really had left of those years in Egypt...so...I kept it!  NOT because you were in it!"

            "I thought you hated to be reminded of those days, Shadow," Yami said.

            "Well......"

            Sara would have rescued her had she said something else, but she wasn't in the mood to help the poor and needy.

            "Hey!  You're right, Shadow!  He _is_ sexy!"

            Shadow went a brilliant shade of crimson.  Yami went a pale scarlet.  Sara's face got red, too—but only because she was giggling herself to death.

            "I SWEAR, SARA!" Shadow yelled in her ear.  "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU AS SOON AS I'M DONE WITH KILLING HIM!"  She thrust a finger towards Yami.

            "OW!  OW!  OW!  THAT HURTS!  YOU FORGET—MY EARS ARE SUPER-SENSITIVE—" She yelled in _Shadow's ear, this time—"**JUST LIKE YOURS!!!"**_

            Yami, however, wasn't yelling, but was worrying about the figure on the ground.  He'd been unconscious until the girls had started yelling at each other.  And now he'd woken up and was tapping him on the shoulder.

            But it wasn't Yaku tapping him on the shoulder—it was the principal of Domino High—Mrs. Brannigan!

            "And just WHAT do you think," she piped, in a high, irritating voice, "GIVES you the right...to WALK AROUND THE SCHOOL on a TEACHER WORK DAY?!?!" Sara and Shadow stopped bickering and looked up.  There was Mrs. Brannigan, grey, wavy hair in a tight bun, spectacles sitting on the bridge of her crooked nose, eyes burning with anger, and her lips going _so thin that the kids almost thought they would disappear altogether.  Not to mention the fact that she was holding Yaku by the ear, and, although she was no taller than five foot one, he cowered before her like a scared little puppy and begged for mercy._

            Yami swallowed.  Err...Yugi?

            I don't know what to do!

            Yami bit his lower lip nervously, but finally stepped up and opened his mouth—

            "I'm sorry, Ma'am.  We just thought—well—that the teacher workday was called off because of all the plans the other teachers had," Sara said.

            Yami turned around, surprised.  So did Yaku (The principal had finally let go, but he kept rubbing his ear).  So did the principal.  "Well."  She stepped forward to speak to her.  "To whom am I speaking?"

            "Sara Kennitharian," she said, bowing low.  "I'm new here.  I came from America.  I didn't know you wouldn't cancel the teacher work day."

            "Hmm..." Mrs. Brannigan said, thoughtfully.  "Be that as it may..."

            "—err...pardon me, missus..." Yaku interrupted, trying to be polite only so he wouldn't get himself in trouble, "but...if it's a teacher workday...what are _you doing here?  And why is the door unlocked?"_

            "Because I forgot to lock it and have come back in order to do so."  She turned back to the others.  "Well, I just hope you realize the seriousness of what you have done.  You were breaking and entering, and—"

            "Well, not necessarily breaking, since the door was unlocked, but—"

            "Ba-ku-RA!" she piped, accenting the last syllable of his name so it sounded even more high-pitched.  "Do NOT interrupt me WHILE I am speaking!"  Yaku shrank back and she continued, "If you would be SO kind...as to LEAVE right now, NOT in a few minutes, NOT when you get your things, I would GREATLY appreciate it."

            So, Mrs. Brannigan turned on her heel and walked swiftly to lock inspect the school to make sure no one else was inside before she locked it.

            Yami Yugi turned to face Sara.  "You...didn't have to do that..."

            "You're welcome," Sara said, and turned to her yami and bopped her on the head.  "Shadow!  Stop shaking like that!  He's only some short dude with really really spiky hair!"

            "_Never_," Shadow said, firmly, but nervously to Sara, "_call Pharaoh a dude!!! Okay? _NEVER!_"_

            "Why not?"

            "Because he's _not!  And he's gonna get mad at _me_ if you do!"_

            "Why?"

            "I DUNNO, HE'S A LUNATIC, THAT'S—OOOOOOWWWWWWWW!"  Yami had grabbed her ear and was pulling on it—_hard­_.  She had four ear piercings, two at the bottom, one at the top, and clip in the middle, and they were _all new and all still hurt.  And, this would be a good time to mention that her ears were particularly easy to grab onto, because they were huge and fuzzy—she had long, pointy ears that were one of the trademarks that she was __not entirely human._

            Wait— Yugi said telepathically to Yami, Is she an _elf_?

            Fire Elf to be exact, but if you haven't noticed, she's got a tail, and doesn't have nails—_she has claws.  Trust me—I know from personal experience.  He rubbed his cheek, remembering the first time she'd slapped him—it had been painful._

            Sara was the same way, but she had _five ear piercings and no claws, but her nine bushy tails made up for that.  At the time, no one knew it, but she was also a Water Elf._

            "PLEASE LET GO!  OH, MERCY! MERCY! MERCYYYY!!!"  Yami let go.  Shadow sat down and started rubbing her ears very fast, but very effectively—in about ten seconds she'd gotten up and yelled in his ear, "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO _THAT_ FOR?!?"

            "BECAUSE I FELT LIKE IT!" he yelled back, and bopped her on the head a little lighter than Sara did (that proved he wasn't afraid to hit a girl, even if she _was_ the one he—well—we'll go into _that_ later).  "NO, DUH!  YOU CALLED ME A LUNATIC!"

            "SHE CALLED YOU A DUDE!"

            "Is that bad?"

            "Oh _geez," Shadow said, mouth open.  "__Tell me you know what 'dude' means!"_

            "You baka mesuemu!" Yaku stepped on Yami's foot.  "You don't do any of the modern lingo, do you?"

            "I understand it well enough!"  Yami rubbed his foot painfully (as Yaku was plenty heavy, and when he put his foot down, you'd better make sure _your_ foot isn't under it, which Yami forgot)  "Oh...by the way...I think I want to set Bakura loose."

            "What do you mean, 'set him loose'?"

            "I mean...I'm going to let him gain control."

            "OH NO, YOU'RE NOT!"

            "And just what makes you think THAT, Yaku?

            Yami raised his hand, palm facing Yaku, said something in a distant tongue, and Yaku went unconscious, stumbling backward.  And Sara was standing there, so she caught him.

            If somebody told you that at that moment when the _real_ Bakura looked up, they seemed to have found their only purpose in life, if somebody told you that the chemistry between them began the moment their eyes met, if somebody said that each of them was thinking they had died and gone to heaven, I'll tell you now, somebody was right.  Sara was thinking that where a ruthless criminal had been standing, a sweet, handsome, sensitive boy was in her arms.  Bakura was thinking he was being held by an angel.

            Shadow smirked and stepped on Yami's other foot, and, as she had planned, he got really pissed off and started chasing her.  She would be back a few minutes after she'd lost him to see if Sara and Bakura would kiss.

            Bakura went extremely red and got up.  "Um...sorry...I...didn't mean to—"

            "That's alright!" Sara said, and smiled.  "It wasn't your fault."

            "Well...still..."

            "Hey!  It's alright!  It's no big deal!"

            "Uh...well...alright...but...are you sure?"

            "Positive!"

            "Um...okay...if you say so."  Bakura went even redder as he suddenly remembered his manners.  "Uh...I'm sorry...I forgot to introduce myself!  I'm Bakura Ryou!"

            "Sara Artemis Kennitharian," she said, bowing low, as before.  "I'm very pleased to meet you, Bakura!  So...you're the one Yugi was talking about when he called your counterpart 'Bakura!'"

            "Yep!  That's me!"  He smiled, but then he suddenly noticed something around her neck.  "What's that?" he asked, pointing to the amulet.

            "Oh, th—OH!  NOTHING!!!" she said, pulling her overcoat tightly around her.  Bakura still looked suspicious.  Sara bit her bottom lip, wondering if he would attack her and try to grab it, but Bakura merely laughed.

            "Oh, come on!  Let me see it!  No one will ever know!"

            "Uh-un!"  Sara turned up her nose.  "I ain't letting _you see it, and I ain't letting no one else see it!"_

            "Oh, come on...please?"

            Sara just couldn't figure out what made the boy look so damn innocent.  But, whatever it was, it worked.  "Oh, fine."  Sara took off her overcoat, and clashing with her bright blue shirt (which matched her hair identically) and hanging from her neck was a Millennium Item that looked similar to the Millennium Ring, but it had all seven—err...make that _nine...—miniature models of the Millennium Items.  "The Millennium Ross," Sara said.  "The Millennium Item nearest to it glows.  I expect you have the Millennium Ring?"  Indeed, the miniature Millennium Ring on the Ross was aglow._

            "Well, yes, actually," he said, showing her his own Millennium Item.  "I don't exactly know what it does yet—err...except that it holds a spirit that's trying to get all the Millennium Items for himself—...but he's not something I have to worry about unless he comes into his form where he has a separate body.  And he's not doing _that any time soon," he added, stepping on his yami's face again._

            Sara smiled.  "Well...then...if you want, you know...uh...you could probably come over to my place for a little while..."

            "I'd like that very much," he replied, smiling back.


	2. Big Boat Blowup and Past Shadows Reveale...

Joey stood out on the dock, his sandy blonde hair blowing in the salt-stained breeze.  The ocean waves whispered his name, churning, spinning, entwining in itself in an unending cycle.  Maybe he would just rest here for a while...no girls, no other people, no other things pestering him...perhaps he could stay for a little while...he could stay forever and a day...

            "Doesn't he look hot just standing out there on the dock like that?"

            "Yeah!  He looks so relaxed and carefree!"

            "You girls say what you want!  He looks like one of those out-there surfer snobs to me who would be content with a pretty girl, a million dollars, and a cool car!"

            "Well, I think he's kinda cute!"

            "Get real.  He is SO a movie star wannabe."

            "What you MEANT to say is he is SO a Brad Pitt look-alike!"

            "Agh!  Get REAL!"

            "Hehe!  I'm gonna go talk to him!"

            Nichelle and Bianca stared at her.  "You are SO not going to talk to that DORK, Sammie," Nichelle said indignantly.  "He is like...SO five minutes ago!"

            Bianca gaped at her.  "Really?  You want to talk to that hunk?  You are so out of your mind!  What if he, like, totally HATES you?"

            In the background, Joey sat down and leaned back.

            "Oh, come on, it's not like it'll hurt THAT bad if it does!  If he's an 'out-there-surfer-snob,' I'll just have to re-form my impression of him.  What's the worst that could happen?"

            "Nevermind!  You go try and get something through his thick skull if you like!  He could be Joey Wheeler for all you know!"  Nichelle turned on her heel and walked off with Bianca.  Samantha sighed.  She had been in love with Wheeler since the seventh grade, but had never worked up enough courage to speak to him.  What if it WAS Joey Wheeler?  Did they have a chance?

            She walked right up to him.  She went blank.  "Ahh..."

            Joey started.  "Oh, shoot, you scared me!"

            "Sorry..." she said, looking guilty.

            "Hun?"  Joey was confused.  "What's wrong?  You look like something's botherin' ya!"

            "Well...no, but..."  She sat down beside him on the dock.  "I was just wondering what you were doing here...by...yourself..."  She blushed a little when she said these words.

            "Well, not by myself no more, hun?"  He stared out to sea.  "It's beautiful, you know?  The sea, I mean.  It never actually changes, it seems..."

            "Yeah...the waves just keep rolling...over...and over..."

            Joey leaned closer.  "You...understand..."

            "Yeah..."  She blushed.  He leaned closer still...

            Finally he stopped and looked out to sea again.  "So, what's your name, anyway?" he asked.  "You still haven't told me your name."

            "It's Samantha," she said.  "Sammie for short, or Sam.  What's your name?"

            "Wheeler," he said, with a sort of James Bond flare.  "Joey Wheeler."

            "It's nice to meet you, Joey."

            "Say!" Joey turned toward her, suddenly realizing something.  "You go to Domino High!"

            "Yes..."

            "You're always following me."

            Samantha went a brilliant shade of scarlet.  He knew.  He knew she liked him.  He had known all along, the way she would stare at him at lunch, or tremble when he spoke, or shoot a glance at him when one of her friends was talking to her, etc...

            "Whatever it is, I didn't do it!"

            "What?"

            "You work for the government, right?  What secret info do you need from me?"

            A large sweat drop passed over her forehead.  He didn't have a clue that she liked him.

            "I don't work for the government!"

            "Hun...well, if you won't tell the truth, I'll just have to send in...THE TICKLE MONSTER!!!" He started tickling her to death.  Drowning in laughter, Sammie tried to break free, but Joey's grip was too tight.  Finally, she fell back into his arms and he stopped.

            Samantha was panting.  "Wow..."

            "Hehe...the tickle monster does a good job, no?"

            Sammie nodded in agreement.  Then she realized what she was doing and quickly got up, blushing quite a bit.  "Ahh...sorry..."

            "Nah, that's okay."  Then Joey thought of something and turned away so she wouldn't see his own face turning red.  The thought was that...he liked that.  He didn't just like that—he _loved that..._

            "Uh...I gotta go, but I'll...see you at school, I guess.  Probably not for a while, since I'm going to Duelist Kingdom, but I'll see you when I can, okay?"

            "Okay...I guess...see you..."

            Joey watched her run off, back toward her friends, sighed, and closed his eyes, once again listening to the roaring sea.  Things couldn't get better...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yami lay awake in bed that night.  Yugi was already asleep, mentally.  Yami somehow found it easier to stare at Yugi's ceiling in order to think about that day.  Why had Shadow been afraid of him?  Why did he have an urge to kill both her _and_ Yaku?  What was this all about?  How did he get here?  What did he have to do?  Something was continuing that he had taken part in years ago, but what was it?  What did this conspiracy have to do with him?  Was he a toy?  A victim?  Or...rather...the murderer?

            Questions kept on spinning through his head...it made him lightheaded and somewhat disoriented.  Eventually his eyes kept staring in the same direction, never faltering, never stirring...and they dropped...closed...until finally...

            A seven-foot tall replica of himself raised a whip.  A small cry; it couldn't have been made by someone much older than six or seven.  The scene changed.  Yaku...as a child...knife in hand...a beautiful maiden stepped in front of the tall Yami...and Yaku killed them both.  The scene changed again.  He saw Shadow now, as he had seen her earlier that day, but she was much more beautiful, much younger-looking.  Then, himself...she put her arms around her and they came so close that their lips almost touched...but backed away and ran, crying.  The scene changed once more.  Yaku was an adult now, beaten and tortured, crying out in pain every time the thorns struck his back...Yami bound his hands and hung him over a cliff...the rope snapped...but he didn't fall.  An angel with red and black wings came down upon him, and brought him up from the jagged rocks below...

            But it wasn't an angel.  It was Shadow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, Tèa and Tristan escorted Yugi to the dock.  "Don't worry, Yugi," Tèa said.  "You'll get your grandpa back.  I _know you will."_

            "Thanks, Tèa.  And you, Tristan.  You guys have been a real help ever since Pegasus took him away..."  Yugi trailed off.  "Oh, by the way, where's Joey?"

            "He's already on the boat, thanks to that starchip you gave him," Tristan said.

            "Good..."  Yugi turned and looked ahead, towards the boat.  "Thanks again," he said, "for everything."

            "No prob!"  Tristan waved goodbye.

            "Yeah!  See you later, Yugi!  Go kick Pegasus' butt!"  When they were far enough away, Tèa said, "So, remind me how we're going to sneak on the boat?"

Yugi stopped.  Something wasn't right.  He sensed it.  So did Yami.  He spun around and saw—

            Shadow.  Someone else, too, a girl with black pigtails and the way of a seductress about her.  They were talking about something...Yugi strained to here at a distance...

            "I don't mind," the seductress said.  "If we want to get this tournament over with, we might as well kill off a few of the contestants."

            "We?" Shadow said.  "Excuse me, but there is no 'we.'  _I_ am going to blow up the ship.  _You are going the other way.  _We_ will do _nothing_!"_

            Yugi started.  Blow up the ship?  Joey was on that ship, along with dozens of people!  She couldn't blow up the ship!  Neither of them could!  Or...could they?

            "Now, if you don't mind, I'm gonna go set it on fire now!  Buh-bye!"  Shadow walked off toward the ship.  No!

            Yugi stepped in front of her.  "I know what you're going to do—" he said, "but you'll have to go through me first!"

            "Foolish boy!"  Shadow grabbed him by the front collar and threw him into a pole, nearly knocking him out.  "You can't stand up to me!  No one can!"

            There was nothing else Yugi could do...but he knew someone else that could do something.  With the last of his energy, he whispered the words, "Yu-Gi-Oh..."

            "Shadow!"  She stopped at the sound of her name.  Yami stood before her.  "Stop this!" he said strongly, "You won't get anything out of this!"

            "I'll get a little fun," she said.

            "Well," he said, "If that's the way you want it, you'll have to go through me first!"  He held his arms open in a last effort to cut Shadow off.

            "You can't do diddly-squat.  After all, you're just a _silly little boy!"  Shadow's eyes went bright crimson instead of their usual forest green, and she grabbed Yami's shoulders, gripping with her claws, cutting straight through his skin.  Then, she threw him onto the boat, and all of a sudden, it went up in flames._

            People everywhere were running and screaming.  No one had any clue what had happened.  Tèa and Tristan were still on the dock, trying to remain calm, but how could they when Yugi and Joey were supposed to be on that ship?

            Yami sat up, painfully.  The smoke scorched his eyes so he couldn't see.  The wounds on his shoulders bled in masses, stinging and burning as much as the ship.  It might seem impossible that he'd be worried about anyone else's fate right then, but he was thinking about Joey.  He had gone onto the boat and had probably made it to the lower decks.

            Sara Kennitharian stared at the boat for a moment, but a split second later, she was dashing toward it.  A few people tried to yell over their shoulders that she was crazy and should turn back, but she didn't care.  She was a knight.  It was her duty as a knight to protect innocent people, forsaking her own life.  There were definitely innocent people on that ship.

            Say leapt onto the boat and, after taking a quick glance at the top deck, realized there was no one on the top and descended into the ship.  She quickly found the captain and a few other people and got them out safely, but she knew at least Joey was still on board.

            She finally found him, but he was unconscious.  She ran over to him.  "Joey!  Oh, come on, Joey!  Please wake up!"

            Joey opened his eyes halfway.  "Wha...?"

            "Joey, the ship's on fire!  We've got to get out of here!"

            "Ahh...r-right..." Joey replied, still a little disoriented.

            Thinking no one else was on the ship, Sara led Joey to the stairs, but they were completely on fire.  They were trapped.  So, she turned around to find another way, but instead ran into another passenger.

            It was Yami Yugi.

            He was lying on the ground, but Sara noticed how badly he was bleeding and decided he wasn't going to wake up anytime soon.  She hoisted him up on her shoulders and gestured for Joey to follow her again.

            They soon reached a dead end.  Sara tapped on the surface of the wall and turned to Joey.  "Can you swim?"

            "Of course I can swim!"

            "Okay...then get ready!"

            Sara held up her hands, facing the side of the boat, said an incantation, and a magical force shot from her hands and into the wall, ripping it right open.  She grabbed Yami and went into the stream of water she'd created.  Joey honestly thought it was crazy, but he went, too.

            They reached land just as the fire hit the fuel tanks of the ship.  It blew up completely with a rush of fire and blown off parts, and the rest of it sank to the bottom of the sea.

            Sara sighed.  Joey was gasping for air from being underwater for so long.  Say laid Yami down on the beach.  Everyone had gotten out safely and without injury.  Well, except maybe for Yami.

            Tèa and Tristan ran up to them.  "Are you guys okay?" Tèa asked nervously.

            Joey looked up.  "Yeah...you?"

            "Yes...we're fine..."

            "Hey!  What happened to Yugi?" Tristan noticed Yami limp in Sara's arms.

            "Oh...he'll be fine...he just needs some rest.  In fact...I'll take care of him until the next boat comes.  My place isn't too far from here."

            "Really, Sara?  Are you sure?"

            Joey hesitated.  "Wait a sec...shouldn't he be goin' to like...a hospital or somethin'?"

            "No.  Those mortal doctors can't do much of anything.  We mystical beings have found a cure for andoko."

            "Andope? What?"

            "You haven't even discovered that it exists yet!"  Sara rolled her eyes.  "Oi!  Well, Shad's claws might do just a _bit more damage than normal animal claws, as in, mighta poisoned him or something, so..."_

            "Hold on," Tèa said, "Could you just tell us what state he'd be in if he went to a regular hospital?"

            "Ummm..."  Sara thought for a second.  "prolly...in a coma, perhaps worse, perhaps better...but I could save him if he was on the brink of death.  Don't worry."

            Tristan didn't like it at all.  "So we're entrusting the fate of our best friend to someone we don't even know?!"

            "Hey!  I'm only trying to help!  I can heal him with some of my magic.  You shouldn't worry so much!  It's when peeps start getting into immortal damage that I have a tough time dealing with it.  But this is mortal!  Don't worry!"  Tristan still didn't look too convinced.  "Look, if harm comes to him, I swear I'll...uh....hmm...what should I do...?  I'll throw myself off a cliff probably, or I'll be really sad...or I'll be really sad for Shadow, 'cause she still like hi—"  She stopped suddenly.  "Err...don't tell her I said dat...she'll kill me...but I'd probably kill myself anyway if he died because of me."

            Tristan was convinced—barely.  So, after a few quick goodbyes, Sara carried Yami back to her place, meaning what she had said about being able to heal well.  In a few minutes, he was awake.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yami stirred, then opened his eyes halfway.  He tried to sit up, but a soft, gentle hand kept him down; it stung the wounds on his shoulders.  "Sorry...but you need to just rest," Sara's voice reassured him.  "You're pretty lucky you're not perfectly human, and you're even luckier your kind thrive in dark and fire."  She hesitated.  "A normal mortal would be dead, especially if it was just Yugi, with the conk on the head he got."  She paused again.  "Don't mind me.  Just take your shirt off, please..."

            "Wh...what?!"

            "Take it off!  Your shirt!"

            "Not interested!"

            "What do you m—"  Sara suddenly realized what he was thinking.  "NO, NOT LIKE THAT!  I need you to take your shirt off because I have to get to those wounds!  Not because of...no!  That's just wrong!"

            "Still not interested!  I don't want help!"

            "Oh, come on!"

            "Uh-un!"

            "Grr!  _Come on!!!_"  She pulled up his shirt.

            "Ack!  GET OFF!!!"

            Finally, Yami's shoulders ached too much to fight back, so he let her bandage them and try to heal them.  She sighed.  "That should do it, but you still need to rest.  Close your eyes.  Go to sleep."  She left the room.

            Yami leaned back and relaxed, but he _was not_ going to sleep anytime soon.  He was in too much pain to sleep; whatever Sara had put on the wounds to heal them stung, and for some reason it hurt to close his eyes.  There was, however, no indication that he had been in a fire at all, save his memory.

            Shadow all of a sudden came in, not seeing him lying on the sofa.  Yami thought for a moment about just how beautiful she looked with her hair thrown idly over her shoulders, but then remembered what she had done to the boat.  What was she doing here?

            Sara walked in.  "Hi, Shad.  Come here for a secy."

            "What now?"  Shadow walked over.  "Can't you see I'm in the middle of something?"

            "In the middle of what?"

            "Errr...okay, fine.  Nothing.  What do you want?"

            Sara grabbed one of her counterpart's abnormally large ears.  "What did you think you were _doing_ out there?!"

            "Ow!  Ow!  Owwwwwwww!!!  Pain!  Pain!"

            "Do you have any idea what you could have done?!?"

            "Ow!  Ow!  I swear!!!  It was Kagè!  Ow!  Leggo!!!  Please!"

            Sara let go.  "Kagè?  Why would she do dat?  You're supposed to be asleep, Yami."

            He jumped at the sudden mention of his name.  Shadow, realizing his presence, squealed in terror and leapt behind Sara.  "YOU BROUGHT _HIM HERE?!?!"_

            "Yes, and he's not going to get any rest if you keep yelling, so shutup."

            "I don't need rest."

            "No, you don't _want rest.  There's a big difference between _want_ and __need."_

            "Why did you have to bring him here?" Shadow whined.

            "I still don't need rest.  I appreciate it, but I don't need it."

            "Yes you do."

            "No I don't."

            "Shad, watch him while I go get some things done."

            "WHAT?!?!" they both exclaimed at the same time.

            "Yeah!  You two make a cute couple!"

            "You reek, Sara!"

            "Why thank you, Shadow!"  Sara waltzed out.

            Yami sat up painfully, and Shadow dropped down beside him on the sofa, making sure they were as far apart as possible.  Yami didn't mind her presence, but she didn't seem to enjoy spending time with him alone.  She mumbled a few complaints once in a while but finally stopped, putting them both in complete silence.  It was the silence Yami minded.

            Shadow obviously didn't like it either, or else she was desperately bored, because she said, "So...um...I guess you're pretty mad at me...?"

            "Hun?  For what?"

            "No, I dunno!" she said mockingly.  "The boat, stupid!  Those wounds!"

            "Oh, that?  Well, it wasn't you, right?"

            "No."

            "So what's the problem?"

            She stared.  "Okay, that's just scary.  I almost killed you and you aren't mad at me?  That's not like you."

            Yami glanced at her.  "Well, it wasn't you, right?"

            "Well, technically..."  She hesitated.  "It's hard to explain."

            "Go on."  He edged closer.

            Shadow tried to back away, but she had put so much effort into backing away from him earlier that there was nowhere else _to_ back away.  She cringed back and twitched and tried to stay calm, but she was backed up into a corner and she didn't like to be backed into a corner.

            "Well...it's...Kagè...she's like...this...demon...who...takes control of me...and...she's...a little...err...nasty...as in mean...and...ruthless...and..."  He came closer again.  "ahhhh...and... she's...a...killer...basically...ahhhhh...please!"  She couldn't stand it any longer.  "D-don't...come...any...closer...please..."

            Yami hesitated for a moment, and, reluctantly, backed away.  "So...you can't get rid of her, can you?"

            "Not...that I...know...how..."  She hesitated.  "Well, there is...but..."

            "...But...?"

            "...But...you...don't...need to...know..."

            Yami sighed in disappointment.  "Fine."  A long, awkward silence went by.  Shadow tried to start another conversation several times, but she couldn't get any words to come out.  She tried to leave, too, but her legs wouldn't move.  Yami had a question itching at the back of his brain that wouldn't go away, and he was tired of the silence, so he went ahead and asked it.

            "We were...in love, weren't we...?"

            Shadow stopped breathing.  That was the one question she was dreading him to ask.  After more silence, she nodded slowly and cautiously, unsure of what he would do.

            He looked up at her, even though she was avoiding his eyes.  "Yaku...was my enemy...but...your friend..."

            Again, she didn't say anything.  He continued, "Then...I...I tried to kill him and...you...you didn't want it that way...so...you..."  He trailed off.  Yami knew Shadow knew what he was talking about.

            Five thousand years ago, when Yami Yugi was still Pharaoh of Egypt, he and Shadow had been lovers, while he and Yaku were archenemies, and Yaku and Shadow were allies.  Once Yami had found and captured Yaku, he "punished" him for his wrongs against him, and hung the young tomb robber off the side of a cliff.  Late into the night, the rope he was hanging from snapped and Shadow rescued him from a deadly fall.  Yami, of course, took her actions not as a lesson, but as betrayal, and set out to kill her, too, but Yaku gave his life to keep her from committing suicide and Shadow disappeared soon after.

            The only problem was that Yami had forgotten what exactly he was "punishing" him for.  It just seemed so much like he was the criminal and Yaku was just the rebel trying to make life easier for everybody by getting rid of him.

            The two of them sat in silence for a long while afterward.  Neither of them spoke.  Neither of them cared.  Neither of them wanted to remember the awful dark ages of their lives.

            So, finally, Yami fell asleep.  Unbeknownst to him, he fell asleep in Shadow's arms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yugi fell.  Something jumped at him.  Something with literally black, scaly skin and red eyes, with slits for pupils down the middle.  It was too fast.  Yugi was barely able to move.  Everything was a blur of underbrush and a starless night sky and those evil, red eyes...

            Soon, the fiend had him.  It was clawing at him, tearing at his clothes, groping for his neck.  There seemed to be no way to escape the horrible beast.  Suddenly, a man jumped out and tried to grab it, but it darted away.  It leapt at Yugi's rescuer, using whatever means possible to draw blood and cause him pain.  Yugi struggled to his feet, finding he was much, much shorter than he normally was and falling back down trying to keep balanced.

            The monster looked up.  Yugi could see it clearer now; it was pretty big, about the size of a young teen, but its long, devil-like tail made it seem so much larger.  Its long fangs and claws were drenched in blood.  The very sight of it made Yugi terrified.

            It had retargeted him.  The thing lunged toward Yugi, who winced as he felt a sharp pain on the palm of his hand, but that was all the damage the strange man let it do, grabbing its tail and stabbing it with a sharp knife.  "Run, Yugi!" he called.  "Yugi!"

            "Yugi, wake up!"

            Yugi woke with a start.  Sara was staring him in the face, looking really concerned.  "Hey, kid...are you okay?  You look like you saw a ghost."

            He didn't answer at first.  Yugi was still trying to get over those eyes.

            "Hello?  Yugi!"

            Yugi blinked.  "Y-yeah...I'm...I'm fine...it was just a nightmare..."

            "Good...are you sure you're okay?"

            "Yeah..."

            "Alright, then.  The next boat just arrived.  You and I need to get on it, so I figured I'd wake you up."

            "We're not too late, are we?"

            "No.  Like I said, it just got here.  Shadow already left, making sure she had Kagè under control, of course.  This boat's not going to blow up.  I promise."  She helped him up.  "Of course, that is, as long as _you don't set any bombs or nothing."  She smiled.  So did Yugi._

            Even so, it was very, very forced.


	3. Ravens and Reapers Revealed

Yugi dragged his feet across the deck.  He had never felt so down.  Joey had jumped into the water to get Yugi's Exodia, but had only grabbed two.  It wasn't Exodia, though, that Yugi feared for; it was Joey.  Joey had been there for him his whole life, and he had almost drowned that day.  He didn't want any more killing than there had already been...

            "Pussycat."

            "Am not!"

            "Are too!"

            Without realizing where he was going, Yugi walked straight into Shadow Hirakon, who had obviously gotten on the boat to go to Duelist Kingdom instead of blowing it up this time around.

            "Sorry," Yugi muttered without looking up.

            "Hun?"  Shadow wasn't even paying attention.  (Typical of her, no?)

            "Hey!  Who's this?"  A boy standing next to her looked at Yugi.

            "Oh, him?"  Shadow looked down lazily at the small duelist.  "Zach, this is Yugi.  Yugi, this is Zack."

            "Sup."

            "Hi," Yugi answered back softly.

            "Hey, Yugi—you look like you just got second place in a game tournament.  What's wrong?"  Shadow gazed at him curiously.

            "Well...nothing important..."

            "Go on," they both said.

            "Jinx, double Jinx," Shadow said.  Zach cursed.

            Yugi told them the whole story about Weevil asking if he could see Exodia, about the cards being thrown into the water, and about Joey's slim escape from a watery grave when he tried to fish them out.

            "Weevil?!  He did not!" Zach exclaimed angrily at how someone could do that to anybody.

            "I'm gonna go beat him up!" Shadow said.

            "No, no, no.  I'M gonna go beat him up," Zach corrected.

            "I am!"

            "I am!"

            "I am!"

            "Actually, I'd prefer if you would just leave him alone..."

            "WHAT?!"  Shadow and Zach both stared at Yugi.

            Yugi looked away in embarrassment.  "Well...that is...Joey almost got himself really hurt today...and...I don't want that happening to anyone else..."

            Shadow and Zach stared at him for a minute longer.  Finally, Shadow said, "I get it.  You're just one of those hippy people who are all obsessed with peaceful solutions and stuff."

            "Well, not hippy, but yes, I am a bit obsessed with peace, I'll admit.  Turn the other cheek, right?"

            Shadow thought about it.  "Why would that do any good?"

            "Yeah, really, man," Zach said.

            "Exactly," Yugi said.

            Zach raised an eyebrow.  "I dunno what you're talking about.  You're confusing me."

            Yugi sighed.  "It will be the least thing they'll ever expect.   So, they'll get confused and actually start thinking about being nice."

            "I still don't get it, but okay.  Whatever."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, let's just skip the whole Weevil duel and move on.

            Yugi, Tèa, Tristan, and Joey were walking down a path in the wooded areas of Duelist Kingdom.  Joey was bragging about something...none of them knew what it was because they weren't listening to a word of it.  Yugi was looking through is dueling deck, making a new strategy in his head, while Tèa was watching him and Tristan was skimming his outdoor survival book.  Everything had been pretty boring since Weevil and Yugi had dueled.  No one else had shown up and asked.

            "Man, I'm bored outta my skull!" Joey complained.  "When are we gonna find some serious duelists, anyway?"

            "We'll just have to look around and see who we find," Yugi said.  "After all, there's got to be someone nearby looking for a challen—WOAH!"  Yugi's foot caught on something and he was hoisted into the air upside-down.

            Joey leapt back.  "Yikes!  Yug!  What the heck did ya do?!"

            "I DON'T KNOW!  JUST GET ME DOWN!!!" Yugi squealed frantically.

            In a few minutes, they had Yugi down with his feet firmly on the ground, but as they continued on, Tèa hit a trip wire and was caught in a net, Joey fell down into a pit, and Tristan got his foot caught in a mousetrap.

            "This stuff is no accident!" Joey stated clearly.  "Someone must have set all these traps to keep us out!  Or...maybe _they_ knew _we would know that they would mean to keep us out, so they set the traps so we would keep going and see what was going on...but what if _they_ knew that__ we knew that __they knew..."_

            "Joey, here's a plan.  Why don't we just keep going and find out why they're setting these traps?"

            "Hun!  Good idea!  Why didn't I think of that?"

            "Because, Joey.  Face it.  You don't come up with good ideas."  Tristan walked on.

            Joey ran after him.  "What is that supposed to mean?!"

            After traveling for a few more minutes, Yugi stepped on some bamboo that he felt was a little too unstable to be on top of solid ground.  He walked across the patch.  "That's funny," he said.  "I felt sure that was another trap."

            Tèa and Joey walked onto it.  Joey agreed, "Yeah...it doesn't feel like there's anything underneath, does there?"

            Tristan rolled his eyes.  "C'mon, guys."  He walked out on it.  "Let's just keep GOOOOIIINNNGGG...!!!"

            They fell.  They fell deep into darkness.  Down...down...

            _WHAM!_

            "Owwwwwwwww..."  Yugi sat up, rubbing the back of his neck.  "Not...pleasant...where are we?"

            There were tall plateaus all over, extending from a sea of blue fluorescent liquid—whatever it was—that they were all standing on.  Shaky, wooden rope bridges connected each plateau and on a select few of the bridges' posts were black birds.

            "I dunno," replied Joey.  "What's with the crows?"

            "Something weird's going on here..."  Yugi got up and looked at one of the birds.  "Are you sure these are crows, Joey?"

            "No we are not!  That was very rude!"

            Yugi cried out in fear and leapt back.  Had a bird just said something to him, or was it just his imagination?  Maybe he had gotten hit on the head too hard after the fall.

            But, it wasn't so.  The others had heard it, too, and were just as scared.  The sleek, black-feathered bird turned its nose up at them.  "Calling us crows!" it squawked crossly.  "Honestly!"

            Tristan worked up his courage and asked, "Wh-what are you, then?"

            "I," the bird said proudly, "am a glorious raven of the Elvin Northlands.  I have come here from a distant land to reside here in this lovely underground garden of magnificence—"

            "This," Joey said disbelievingly, looking around the dark, gloomy cave, "is a garden?"

            "NEVER INTERRUPT A HIGH RAVEN OF THE ELVIN NORTHLANDS, FOOLISH IDIOT!"  The Raven cursed him.  Joey cowered under the deafening voice.  The raven calmed down, cleared its throat, and stated, "I am Hayabusa, working under the watchful eye of the mistress.  I have been called upon to act by her will."

            "Who is 'the mistress,' anyway?" Tèa asked.

            "The mistress is she."

            "Who?"

            "She."

            "Does _she have a name?"_

            "We mustn't call her by name.  She said not to."

            Tèa frowned.  "Are you her slave or something?"

            "I AM NO ONE'S SLAVE!  I AM A HIGH RAVEN OF THE ELVIN—"

            "We've heard!" they all snapped.

            "Well, where do we find 'the mistress?" Yugi asked.

            "You may find her if you follow us."  The raven pointed with its wing across the bridge that it was perched on, and on the adjoining plateau, another bird stretched its wing.

            "Oh, _I get it!" Joey said suddenly._

            "You do? It's a miracle!" Tristan exclaimed sarcastically.

            "All we have to do," Joey explained, "Is follow the ravens!  Whichever bridge has a raven perched on it is the one we should take!"

            "You must be honored to have such an intelligent companion!" the raven said.  The others exchanged glances.  It obviously didn't know Joey very well.

            So, they trekked cautiously from bridge to bridge, plateau to plateau, shaking on the old bridges, but not running into any more traps.  Eventually, the faint cerulean glow of the sea of liquid down beneath them grew brighter, so they could see more clearly, but the color of everything was extremely distorted.

            Yugi journeyed dangerously far from the group.  "Yugi!  Don't go so far ahead!" Tèa said, but Yugi didn't seem to be listening.  "YUGI!"  He stopped.  Tèa shouted to him, "Yugi!  Wait up!"  The rest of the group caught up with him and looked up at what he was staring at.  "...Oh my..."

            It was a giant dueling field.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was creepy.  One side of the dueling field was a white, almost blinding pool of illumination.  On the other side, it was so dark that you almost couldn't see the podium.  The dark, churning pool on that side was black and mysterious.

            "I don't like this, Yug.  Let's go back..."  Joey turned to leave and stopped suddenly.  Everyone looked around in shock.  The bridges, along with all the plateaus, had suddenly disappeared while they had turned away.

            "This is creeping me out!" Tristan exclaimed nervously.

            Yugi stopped looking at the mysterious disappearance and looked back to the dueling field.

            Tèa looked worried.  "How are we ever going to get out of here?"

            Yugi couldn't believe it.  It was too easy.

            Joey answered, "I dunno, but I hope we can soon!"

            "Simple," Yugi stated.  "We have to duel our way out."

            The holographic projectors on the dueling field lit up.  From somewhere up above, something shot down, landing smoothly on the light podium.  Yugi could see his opponent clearly now.  Her scarlet pigtails showed off by hanging rebelliously off her shoulders, instead of up in the air.  The look in her bright blue eyes, the same blue as the sea below, told Yugi she was ready to duel.  And he was right.

            "Smart boy, but I'm afraid it won't be so simple dueling me as you thought," she declared.  "I am Kaorie Kamo, called 'the mistress' to the ravens, and the number one duelist in London, not to mention second in America!"  (No, she isn't British.)  "BUT I CAN'T BELIEVE I WAS BEATEN BY THAT STUPID LITTLE EIGHT-YEAR OLD!!!  Sorry.  Well, I've built up my deck since I dueled HER, so that's not really important!  I see you've got three starchips.  Well...I've already got six!  Duel me, Yugi Motou!  If you don't, you might never see the light of day again!"

            "You—"

            "Yes, I know your name!  I know the name of every duelist here on the island!  But I didn't come here to introduce myself to everyone!  I came to duel!"

            Yugi grasped the string on the Millennium Puzzle and a split second later Yami stepped up and stated boldly, "Alright, I accept your challenge!"

            "Well then, Pharaoh.  Step up to the podium!"

            "Wait a minute...you..."

            "Yes, I know who you are, too, and I know all about the Millennium Items, owing to the fact that I have one myself."  Out from underneath her shirt she pulled a golden hourglass, and when she tilted it downward, Yami and Yugi could both see a Millennium Eye at the crown.  "This won't be an easy battle, Pharaoh!  This will be a Millennium Battle!" (For those of you who have the Yu-Gi-Oh! Soundtrack, don't even try playing the song "Millennium Battle" while you read this; it has no connection with it at all.)

            "Fine!  How many starchips?" 

            "Well..."  Kaorie thought about it.  "Since I'd rather bet on more than starchips, I'll say this.  If you win, I'll give you all six of my starchips and my Millennium Item.  But if you loose..."  She smirked, her eyes looking darker and sharper.  "You give me your three and your Millennium Puzzle!  Deal?"

            Yugi thought hard about it.  He didn't really want to risk loosing the Millennium Puzzle, but, then again, six starchips would almost get him to Pegasus' Castle.  He'd be risking it all on this one duel, but what choice did he have?  After all, he didn't want to have to wait long in order to get to his grandpa.  This was probably the fastest way to him.  "I accept your challenge, Kaorie!" Yami declared.

            Yami ran to the podium and pulled out his dueling deck.  Kaorie's hair turned jet black and her eyes became red and even darker as she pulled out hers, also, which made Yugi wonder where he'd seen her before.  Finally, life points set to 2000 each, they both said, "Let's Duel!"  (Mwahaha, I love it when they do that!)

            "For my first card, I place Light Maiden on the field in defense mode," Kaorie said. (1100/1200)  "Don't ask," she snapped, ashamed of her worthless card.

            "Right," Yami said.  He played.  "Celtic Guardian (1400/1200) in attack mode!  Destroy the Light Maiden!"

            Kaorie pouted as her monster was destroyed.  "Didn't your mother ever teach you not to hit a lady?"

            "Everything I know, I learned from my father, and he always had bad manners," Yami replied.

            "Fine."  Kaorie drew.  A smirk spread across her face.  "Poohy for you!  You only had one good turn!"  She laid down a card, just as lousy as the last.  "Little Angel (900/1000) in attack mode!"  Yami was confused at first, but then Kaorie played a magic card.  "And," she said as she did, "the magic card, Aura of Blinding Light comes into play!"  Her sight of the field lit up with a brilliant light.  Yami squinted.  The light was so bright that he couldn't see Little Angel anymore.

            "I don't see the point of this magic card, but I'll go ahead and play."  Yami drew a card.  "I summon Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress!  Attack the Little Angel!"

            "Too bad.  You didn't see your mistake in time."

            "What?"

            Yami watched as his dragon flew into the endless white, until he couldn't stand to look anymore into the brilliant beams.  Eventually, his dragon flew out with no success, but had had its attack and defense (1400/1200) brought down by 400 points (1000/800).

            "You see," Kaorie explained, "the Aura of Blinding Light magic card not only conceals my monsters, but it also weakens any not-light monster's attack and defense by 400 points! (Celtic Guardian 1000/800)  So, that means that unless you have a light monster somewhere in your deck, which I highly doubt, you have no way to defeat me!"  She laughed loudly and with a hint of evilness.  Yami rolled his eyes, waiting for her to move.

            "Now!"  She drew her next card and smiled.  "I place this monster on the field in attack mode."

            'As long as she has that magic card in play, I can't attack, so I'll have to build up my defenses,' Yugi thought.

            "I play Giant Soldier of Stone in defense mode! (1300/2000, attack and defense reduces to 900/1600)"

            "Good move," Kaorie said.  "But not good enough!  I attack with my concealed monster!"  The Giant Soldier of Stone was demolished.  "Your move, Pharaoh."

            'I can't believe this!' Yugi thought.  'She summoned a powerful enough monster to defeat my Stone Soldier's defense.  Then again, it was weakened, but after Light Maiden and Little Angel, I didn't think she could summon a monster above 1600 attack.  I'd better be more careful.'

            He played card after card and Kaorie kept destroying his monsters.  He also saw her fuse her strong monster with another, and sacrifice Little Angel to make it stronger.  There was no way it could get any more powerful.

            Finally, he drew the card he needed.  "I play the Dark Magician (2500/2100, attack and defense reduces to 2100/1700) in attack mode on the field.  Dark Magician, attack!"

            "Hello, stupid!  Have you forgotten already?!"  Kaorie stuck up her nose.  "The Aura of Blinding Light prevents you from attacking my monsters!"

            "Who said I was attacking your monsters?"

            "Hun?!"

            "Since light and dark are exact opposites, they cancel each other out when they meet.  So, that means, when my Dark Magician uses its Black Magic Attack, your curtain of light concealing your monsters will be wiped away!"

            "No!"

            "Yes!  My monsters are no longer weakened, and yours are revealed!"

            Yugi's friends cheered from below as the White Sorceress (2640/2310) was unveiled.  "No fair!" Kaorie complained.  "No one's EVER figured that out!  NEVER!  Oh well.  Even if you can see my monster now, there's no way you can defeat it!  My monster _was 2400/2100, but since half of this field is light, it gets a field power bonus!"_

            "That's the same trick Weevil used, Kaorie.  But unfortunately, you made a big mistake."

            "What?!  What are you talking about?!"

            "This field is also half dark.  You know what that means."

            "What?!  No!  Oh, no!"

            "Yes!  The Dark Magician's attack is raised from 2500 to 2750!"

            "Yeah!  Go Yugi!  We knew you could do it!" Shouted Tèa from below.

            "Alright!  You've got her on the run now!" Joey chimed in.

            Kaorie looked angry for a moment, but then laughed softly.  "You may have won the battle, Pharaoh, but you haven't won the war.  Your turn is over, so you can't attack just yet, though I doubt you'll want to when I'm through.  I play Time Mistress (1900/2000) and use Polymerization to fuse it with the White Sorceress and create White Archon of Time! (2800/2400, 3080/2640 with field power bonus)"  Yami Cringed.  "But," continued Kaorie, "A polymerized monster can't attack on the turn it was formed, so it's your move."

            Yami looked though his hand.  'Well,' Yugi thought to himself, 'There's not much I can do.  I can't attack or defend, so I'll have to act fast with—'  "I place Magical Hats on the field and conceal not only my Dark Magician, but something else that you might not want to find."

            "Ha-ha!" Joey mocked.

            "Grrrrr!  Drat!  Now I can't find your Dark Magician.  Oh well.  I'll just hack away at those stupid hats until I find it.  But for right now..."  She smirked.  I play Mystical Hourglass and raise my White Archon of Time's attack power by 200 points! (3280/2640)  I'll attack the hat in the middle on the right!  Go, White Archon of Time!  Destroy it!"

            The duel monster attacked the hat...and...

            Yami laughed.  "Nothing!  You know what to do when you can see everything and have control, but can you find my Dark Magician without loosing your life points?  It's my turn now, so hope and pray!"  He drew a card.  "I play this card and conceal it inside the Magical Hats!"

            "Well, buttons and barn doors," Kaorie said to herself.  "Now what?  Well...I suppose I don't have anything else to do.  I play Hayabusa (1000/900) in attack mode.  Maybe next turn I can use it as a sacrifice.  By the way, Pharaoh, if you haven't noticed, you've got 780 life points left, and if my White Archon of Time catches your Dark Magician, you're finished!"

            "I am well aware of that, Kayo Kaorie."

            "Wh...what did you call me...?

            "Kayo Kaorie.  You're no more alive than I am.  You were the Time Master way back when in Ancient Egypt.  You're just the Millennium Hourglass, as I am just the Millennium Puzzle.  We are merely spirits.  You just pose as Kaorie to keep your identity hidden!"

            Kayo sighed.  "Yes, but if you haven't noticed, they're hearing all of this."  She pointed down to where Joey, Tristan, and Tèa were.

            "Hun?" Joey said.  "What are you two talking about?  All this stuff about Ancient Egypt...why can't you just focus on the duel?"

            "Well, luckily they don't understand any of it.  Still my move!  I attack the first hat to the left with White Archon of Time!"  She found nothing.  "Grrrrr!!!"

            "It looks like you get nothing, once again."  Yami looked at his hand and thought for a minute.  Then, he sighed.  "There's nothing else I can do, Kayo Kaorie.  I'll give you one last move.  If you pick the hat with the Dark Magician, you win.  But...if you pick the hat with my trap—you don't want to know."

            Kayo brushed off a drop of sweat rolling down her face.  This was it.  Now or never.  She took a deep breath and exclaimed, "As you wish, Pharaoh!  White Archon of Time!  Destroy the Dark Magician!  The hat to the far left!"

            The White Archon of Time sped forward for the kill.  It came closer and closer and closer still.  The whole gang crossed their fingers.  Yami and Yugi believed in the Heart of the Cards as much as they possibly could, and—

            Kaorie wailed, "NO!"

            Yami opened his eyes.  "Just as I thought!  You've activated my trap, the Spell-Binding Circle!  All that time you spent building up your monster and now it's going to the graveyard!"

            Kayo watched helplessly as the Spell-Binding Circle paralyzed her White Archon of Time and reduced its attack by 700 points.  "No!" she cried.  "No!  This can't be happening!"

            "Yes!  And you know what happens next!"  Yami stepped back.  "Dark Magician, let's finish this duel!  Attack!"

            The Dark Magician held up a hand and dark magic swarmed around the field, killing both of her monsters.  They all watched her life points go from 1740 to zero.

            "YAY!" Joey, Tristan, and Tèa exclaimed.  "YOU DID IT!"

            "We knew you could do it, Yug!" Joey shouted excitedly.

            Yami smiled at the cheering, took his deck, and got down off the podium.  "I couldn't have done it if all of you weren't here to cheer me on," he replied.

            "Ah, that?  That was nothing," Joey said.  "Oh, by the way—I think SOMEONE owes you some starchips!"

            "Yes, they do," Yami agreed and they went to where Kaorie (now truly Kaorie, not Kayo) had stepped off the podium.  She hadn't moved.  "Kaorie, are you okay?" Yami asked.

            Kaorie sniffed, looking downward.  "Yes...I'm fine..."  Yami saw a sparkling white tear drop from her cheek.  "I...I guess I owe you something..."  She her only six starchips from her dueling glove and took off her Millennium Hourglass.  "Here," she said flatly and shoved them into his hands.  "Take them..."

            Yami didn't take them.  He noticed something else hanging around her neck.  "What's that?" he asked.

            "Nothing..."  She buttoned her jacket and tucked it down inside.  Yami grasped the string before it disappeared and pulled.  "Wh-what are you doing?!"  He opened it.

            It was a photo.

            "Hey!  L-let go!"  Kaorie struggled.  Yami held tight.  He reached into his pocket and, as Kaorie watched him curiously, he pulled out a picture of his own.

            "This is my grandpa," he explained.  "His soul was taken from him by Pegasus.  I'm determined to win against him and get him back."

            Kaorie hesitated.  "Uh...well...this is Allen.  He's always been there to protect me and now I want to protect him...but...I guess I've failed."  She started to walk away.  Yami caught up with her and gave her things back, enclosing her hand around them.  "Hun?"

            "Kaorie, you got yourself into trouble, but only because you put way too much on this duel by choice, and that's a mistake anyone could make.  And besides, we're both fighting for the same cause, and if one of us is kicked out of the tournament, who will be there to back the other up?"  Yami put his hand on her shoulder.  "If we're going to be in this, we're going to be in this together."

            She hesitated.  "But...you won..."

            "No," Yami replied.  "We _both_ won.  And we _will_ win against Pegasus."  With that, Kaorie smiled and went with Yami on his adventure through Duelist Kingdom.

"Uhh..." Joey looked around.  "That was sweet and all, but...umm...how are we gonna get out of this cave?"

            "Simple," Kaorie answered calmly.  She clapped her hands once.  A huge, black bird swooped down to meet them.

            It took one look at Joey and in a familiar voice said, "Oh, no...not you...you have _no respect _whatsoever_ for the High Ravens of the Elvin Northlands..."_

            "Oh, NO!  It's Hayabusa again!"

            "Yes.  He can transform into a giant bird."

            Yugi laughed, but then realized something.  "Kaorie," he said, "Wasn't there a card that you played called 'Hayabusa'?"

            "Yes!  I thought the picture on the card looked so much like the real thing that I named him after it.  Come on, Hayabusa!  Let's go!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yugi could feel it.  Someone...or something...was watching him, while it thought he was sound asleep.  Maybe it was just his imagination.  Maybe it was just the hangover of a nightmare he didn't remember.  But, one thing was for sure—it felt real.

            He couldn't take it anymore.  Without warning, he sat bolt upright and looked around.  Joey, Tristan, and Tèa were sleeping.  Kaorie was staring at him.

            "Wh-wh-why are you looking at me like that?" Yugi asked nervously.

            "I'm not," she denied.  "I'm looking at the person looking at you.  If I look away, he might do something uncalled for."

            "Who?  What?"  She pointed toward a space behind him.  Her outstretched finger looked creepy in the pale moonlight and starless illumination of the sky.

            'Geez, all we _need_ is a fog machine,' Yugi thought, and turned toward where she was pointing.  Sure enough, there were two yellow, hawk like eyes staring at him from the darkness of the trees.  "Okay...I...I'm scared now...y-you can come out..."

            Silently, he came out from the trees.  His long, sweeping cloak flared out on the ground and his black hood draped over his face, adding to the terror that the scythe in his hands brought.  His thin, white lips frowned.  It was just the fact that he was only a bit taller than Yugi that made him seem anything near comical.  "Are...are you the grim reaper...?" Yugi breathed.

            "I prefer to be called The Lord of Silence, but yes, I am," he replied.  He came closer.  "So.  You are the grandson of Solomon Motou..."

            "Y-yeah...that's me..."

            "I've heard much about you, Yugi Motou.  All from your grandfather."

            "My...my grandpa?" Yugi stammered.  "You know him?"

            "We've become friends over the years...made a few deals...you know..."  He paused.  "He's not afraid to deal with death, Yugi Motou."

            "Are you going to take him?" Kaorie asked.

            "Which one?"

            "Yugi."

            "Hmm..."  He thought about it.  "Yes.  I will take all at some point.  But there's no need to rush.  Yugi is perfectly healthy besides the fact that if I took him, he would be dead, so why arouse suspicion among the Common People?"  He looked back to Yugi.  "But I do need to perform a certain test on you.  Do you mind if I kept Pharaoh from interfering mentally?"

            Yugi glanced at Kaorie, who urged him to agree.  Reluctantly, Yugi replied, "No, I don't mind..."

            "Alright, then..."  He put two fingers on the Millennium Puzzle and a moment later, Yami was sitting right beside him.

            "What the—"

            "Do not worry, Yugi Motou.  He is sitting beside you only because he has been separated from you.  It is difficult to explain...but suffice it to say that for the time being, I have given him his own body."  The Lord of Silence looked down at Yami.  The Egytian and he stared at each other for some time, seeming to communicate without words.  Finally, Yami nodded, as if giving him permission to perform this "test."

            "Hold out your hand, Yugi Motou."  He did so.  Kaorie looked tense.  Yami looked worse.  The Lord of Silence seemed to have neither emotion, nor any expression at all.  Yugi was terrified, but he tried to keep his hand from shaking uncontrollably.  The cloaked figure positioned his left hand underneath the boy's and lifted it slightly.  He didn't blink.  Putting his right hand over Yugi's, he lowered his thumb and without touching his palm, wrapped the other four fingers around his small wrist and stopped.  "Relax, Lord Hikari Yugi.  I have done this before.  This is not your death day, that I am sure of."  The Lord of Silence lifted his thumb again, said something in a distant tongue, and touched Yugi's palm ever so slightly—

            "_Ow__!"  Yugi ripped his hand away.  "__That hurt!  What were you doing?!"_

            The Lord of Silence didn't answer.  He just stared at Yugi with..._pity...in his eyes.  Yugi was very disturbed by his expression, so he looked at Yami and Kaorie, who weren't looking at him anymore.  Yami looked upset...almost angered...while Kaorie seemed to be trying very hard not to look sad._

            "What?" Yugi asked.  "What did I do?"

            The Lord of Silence hesitated.  "Nothing.  You are brave, truthful, and unselfish.  But all good things, if mortal, must come to an end."  He stood up, turned away, and began to leave but then stopped, and without looking back, said, "Call me Kolbon Katark."  He then continued on, and vanished in the breeze.

            There was a long, awkward silence.

            Finally, Kaorie asked Yami, "Do you intend to say anything to him?"

            He hesitated.  "...No.  Not now.  Perhaps when the day comes, but then..."  He shook his head.  "No.  Not at all, actually.  I'm not sure why this is happening, but if I say anything, it might make things worse."

            "Make what worse?"

            Yami stood up and literally jumped into a tree.  "Nothing, Abiou.  Go to sleep..." 

            "But—"

            "It's nothing you should concern yourself with now.  You've got to save your grandpa, remember?  You need a good night's rest for tomorrow.  Go to sleep."

            Yugi hesitated and looked at Kaorie, who shrugged and wriggled down into her sleeping bag.  Yugi followed suit, although he wasn't quite sure about this whole grim reaper thing.  What did this "Kolbon Katark" want and what had he just done?  Was he going to die?  Was someone else going to die?

            Yugi shuddered to think that another person would die.  He didn't really care about his own death.  When his time came, his time came.  But someone else?  Yugi had seen far too much death already and he didn't want to see any more.


End file.
